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Exterior of Tree Publishing building on Music Row in Nashville. 1978.

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Chet Atkins and Waylon Jennings in recording studio booth, RCA-Victor.

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Harlan Howard, Sonny Throckmorton, Dave Wheeler, and Roger Sovin

Elvis Presley and the Jordanaires during a session at RCA Studio

Jim Reeves and Chet Atkins during a session at RCA Studio B

Historic Music Row: Nashville's Creative Crossroads

Music Row has long been the center of Nashville’s music industry. Within just a few blocks, the offices of record companies, music publishers, and other organizations coalesced to form a unique creative community.

Neil Young

Neil Young performs “The Needle and the Damage Done” on The Johnny Cash Show, 1971. While in Nashville for this performance, Young recorded parts of his album Harvest at Quadrafonic Studios.
Porter Wagoner and Dolly Parton recording at RCA Studio B in the late 1960s.

Talk About a Smash Hit!

Dolly Parton begins recording with Porter Wagoner at the studio. She’s so nervous about her first session there, she ran her car into the building, 1967.
With Hargus “Pig” Robbins on piano and Joe Babcock singing back-up, Waylon Jennings records “Stop the World” at RCA Studio A. From an educational film on American music, c. 1966.

Waylon in the Studio

Waylon Jennings records “Waylon Sings Ol’ Harlan,” an album of songs by Country Music Hall of Fame songwriter Harlan Howard.
The Quonset Hut—also known as Studio B—in a late 1950s photo. Photo by Sid O’Berry.

The Quonset Hut

The Bradley brothers add a military Quonset Hut in the spacious backyard of the house. The mostly prefabricated structure has a long, curved roof, with dimensions of seventy-eight feet long by thirty-five feet wide by thirty-five feet high. Originally intended just for making films and video for television, the Quonset Hut quickly becomes the more popular recording studio.
Bobby Braddock talks with Bobby Bare about his beginnings in music, his motivation to keep writing, and the success he had with “He Stopped Loving Her Today.” From an episode of Bobby Bare and Friends, 1984.

“He Stopped Loving Her Today”
Walking around RCA Studio B, Roy Orbison points out the placements for each of the players, and their coats, for the "Only the Lonely" session. From a 1981 TV documentary on Orbison that was never finished.

Orbison Hits the Charts

Roy Orbison’s third single, “Only the Lonely,” which was recorded at RCA Studio B, becomes a smash, hitting #2 on the pop charts.

Plan Your Visit

Step into the birthplace of hundreds of Music Row hits with a tour of historic RCA Studio B, and also see the story of country music unfold at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum across two expansive floors of galleries filled with costumes, instruments, and more.

Get Your Tickets Today

Historic Music Row: Nashville's Creative Crossroads

Music Row Highlights

Neil Young

Talk About a Smash Hit!

Waylon in the Studio

The Quonset Hut

“He Stopped Loving Her Today”

Orbison Hits the Charts

Plan Your Visit